Work by Mslaba Dumile Feni to be auctioned in Germany – any
chance someone will bring it home?
by Kresta Tyler Johnson
An intimate charcoal and wash by the exiled artist Mslaba Dumile Feni has recently emerged from a private collection in Germany and is to be auctioned in December in Stuttgart. Completed in 1965, the piece is titled Man with a Lamb and measures 72 x 52 cm.
Feni has a rich history as a prolific artist, but as a result of his forced exile is not well known in his home country of South Africa. Experts guess the small work on paper was exhibited at Gallery 101 in Johannesburg in the mid 1960s, before being taken to Germany.
The work can be viewed at www.pelmama.org. In the meantime for those interested in seeing more
work by the artist who has been referred to as 'the Goya of the townships',
his work is currently on show at Art on Paper in Johannesburg. It would be
refreshing if the work was purchased and brought back to South Africa, as the
more we rebuild the work from those that had to flee, the more we add pieces
to the art historical puzzle.